Oscar Pistorius thought his girlfriend was in bed when he fired through the bathroom door at what he believed was a burglar, a court heard today.

It was only when he went to the bedroom, which was empty, that
he realised the person in the bathroom was Reeva Steenkamp who was
dying from four bullet wounds, he told police.

In his affidavit read to Pretoria magistrates, the Paralympian,
left, said he had gone to the balcony after the couple went to bed
and then felt a “sense of terror rush through me” after hearing a
disturbance in the bathroom.

He said: “It was dark and I thought Reeva was in bed. I screamed
words to the effect of, ‘Get out of the bathroom’. As I did not
have my prosthetic legs on, I felt vulnerable for myself and Reeva.
I was on my stumps when I fired shots through the bathroom door and
shouted Reeva to call the police.”

He said he used a cricket bat to break into the locked bathroom,
adding: “I tried to save Reeva. But she died in my arms. I am
absolutely mortified by the events and devastating loss of my
darling Reeva, I can’t stand how much hurt I’ve caused.” His
affidavit was read out during a bail hearing as former model
Steenkamp’s family held a funeral in Port Elizabeth.

The account differed sharply from that of prosecutors who
earlier told the court that Pistorius strapped on his prosthetic
legs and walked seven metres to shoot dead Steenkamp, 29, in a
premeditated attack after a row.

He fired four times through the bathroom door at his home in
Pretoria on Valentine’s Day as she cowered on the lavatory seat, it
is alleged.

Pistorius, 26, then broke down the door and carried her
downstairs, telling a friend “I thought it was a burglar”, the
court heard. But prosecutors argued that the claims were “all part
of the pre-planning”.

Pistorius appeared stunned as the judge ruled that he may face a
charge of premeditated murder, though defence lawyers are fighting
to have it downgraded. It means there will have to be “exceptional
circumstances” for him to be granted bail.

Wearing a grey suit and tie Pistorius sobbed uncontrollably with
his head in his hands as prosecutor Garrie Nel told Pretoria
magistrates the athlete “shot an unarmed and innocent woman”. He
said there was an argument before the killing and that Pistorius
planned to murder her.

“He got up from a bed, put on his prosthesis, armed himself and
walked seven metres,” he said. “It’s not, ‘There was someone
standing over my bed’. If I arm myself, walk a distance and murder
a person, that is premeditated. The door is closed. There is no
doubt. I walk seven metres, I shoot ... The motive is, ‘I want to
kill.’ That’s it.”

He said Ms Steenkamp locked herself in the tiny bathroom “for a
purpose” but said he could not yet divulge what that purpose was.
He questioned why a burglar would lock herself in a bathroom, and
said even if Pistorius thought she was an intruder, shooting her
through a locked door showed “pre-planning”.

He said Pistorius did not fire the shots to scare her, but to
kill. Police have also rejected the possibility Pistorius mistook
her for an intruder. They also confirmed there had been “domestic
incidents” at the property.

Mr Nel said: “It must have been horrific. It was pre-planned up
until the time that he shot her. If he felt bad after that, that’s
something different.” The athlete has been held in jail since the
death of Ms Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day. In his
affidavit today he said he had been “deeply in love” and had no
intention of killing her.

He said he was “not disposed to violence” and would surrender
his passport to prove he would not try to flee if granted bail. He
said he had received death threats and so slept with a 9mm pistol
under the bed.

Pistorius’s best friend Justin Divaris, who introduced the
couple, said in a statement to the court: “Oscar would often tell
me how much he loved Reeva and she was a fantastic person who
understood him. She could be ‘the one’. ”

Mr Divaris’s girlfriend Sam Greyvenstein, Steenkamp’s best
friend, said Pistorius treated the model “like gold”. She said Ms
Steenkamp would have accepted a proposal, and although he was “
intense”, she loved him.

The bail application is expected to last until tomorrow. The
judge said he could downgrade the charge and grant bail depending
on the evidence.